Plant Library
Moffett Juniper
Juniperus scopulorum 'Moffettii'
Height: 12 feet
Spread: 5 feet
Sunlight:
Hardiness Zone: 4a
Other Names: Colorado Redcedar
Description:
A dense and narrowly columnar evergreen shrub with soft textured silvery-gray needle-like foliage and abundant showy blue berries, a good compact choice for adding a vertical element in difficult landscape situations, makes a great tall evergreen hedge
Ornamental Features
Moffett Juniper is a dwarf conifer which is primarily valued in the landscape or garden for its rigidly columnar form. It has attractive gray evergreen foliage. The scale-like sprays of foliage are highly ornamental and remain gray throughout the winter. It produces silvery blue berries from late spring to late winter.
Landscape Attributes
Moffett Juniper is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a narrowly upright and columnar growth habit. It lends an extremely fine and delicate texture to the landscape composition which can make it a great accent feature on this basis alone.
This is a relatively low maintenance shrub, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed. Deer don't particularly care for this plant and will usually leave it alone in favor of tastier treats. It has no significant negative characteristics.
Moffett Juniper is recommended for the following landscape applications;
- Accent
- Vertical Accent
- Hedges/Screening
- General Garden Use
Planting & Growing
Moffett Juniper will grow to be about 12 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 5 feet. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 70 years or more.
This shrub should only be grown in full sunlight. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist growing conditions, but will not tolerate any standing water. It is considered to be drought-tolerant, and thus makes an ideal choice for xeriscaping or the moisture-conserving landscape. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is somewhat tolerant of urban pollution. This is a selection of a native North American species.
